From House to Home and Everything In Between

Saturday, December 2, 2006

Hemingway ate here. La Closerie des lilas

According to Frommers, the famous people who have sat in the "Pleasure Garden of the Lilacs" include Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Ingres, Henry James, Chateaubriand, Picasso, Hemingway, Apollinaire, Lenin and Trotsky (at the chessboard), and Whistler.

The bartender was perfectly happy to answer our Hemingway questions and tell us about his favorite places to sit.

We didn't see anyone famous, as far as I could tell. We seemed to have caught many lovely, large families with adorable children enjoying brunch. It's a beautiful setting for a sunny day, which is how we got to enjoy it.

It's walking distance to Luxembourg Gardens. What better way to walk off a meal?